Unit 1 of the Zhangzhou nuclear power plant in east China's Fujian Province formally came into commercial operation on January 1, 2025. It was a major step forward in the scaled construction of the Hualong One, a homegrown third-generation reactor.

The Zhangzhou nuclear power base is the birthplace of the scaled construction of the Hualong One technology. It is designed to have six Hualong One nuclear power units, each with a capacity of one million kilowatts. Four units, including the Unit 1, are currently under construction and they have followed high safety and quality construction standards.

The nuclear power Unit 1 was launched by the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) in October 2019 and was the fifth such one built by the CNNC with Hualong One technology.

As China's independently developed third-generation nuclear technology with complete intellectual property rights, Hualong One has fully met the highest global safety requirements and the latest technical standards, and become a landmark achievement of the country's nuclear power technology on the global stage.

It is of utmost importance to help China grow from a large state into a global leader in the field of nuclear power technology. As of now, the Hualong One is the third-generation nuclear reactor that boasts the highest number of units under construction or in operation in the world, making the country among the world leaders in nuclear power technology.

A Hualong One nuclear power unit is expected to generate more than 10 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, which can meet the annual production and domestic electricity demands of 1 million people in moderately developed countries. It is equivalent to reduce standard coal consumption by 3.12 million tonnes annually and carbon dioxide emissions by 8.16 million tonnes per year, an environmental impact comparable to planting over 70 million trees each year.

After its completion, the Zhangzhou nuclear power base will annually produce 63.5 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity per year and play a vital role in help Fujian achieve its carbon peak and neutrality targets.